Yellowstone Wolves

One of Caty's and my main goals for Yellowstone was to use our new 150-600mm lens to photograph Wolves. And, of course, you have to find them before you can photograph them. Fortunately, there are plenty of people in Yellowstone willing to help. On almost any day in the summer, Wolf observers can be found at the overlooks in Hayden Valley with their spotting scopes. They are all very willing to share information about the Wolves and where to see them. And, they will usually let people look through their scopes.

This trip, there was a (barely) visible pack of Wolves. We saw them multiple times far out in the valley across the river. While they were far away (they are in the picture below), it was the most exciting Wolf activity I have seen to date.

My pictures reflect how far away they were

I could really see them fairly well through my lens

What we were watching was a real Wolf soap opera in progress, as two of Yellowstone's 11 Wolf packs were reorganizing. The Wapiti Pack comprises an alpha female (silver/white), a yearling (gray), four pups (gray) and an alpha male (black/silver). The male is aging and, this summer, was driven off by three black males that have left the Mollie pack and are courting the Wapiti alpha female.

As the Wolf Turns

From what we could see, they were having success. We saw all the players, except the Wapiti male, which is still hanging around and occasionally feeding his pups. The youngsters and the female seem quite cozy with the Mollies.

The black ones are easier to see

In addition to watching the Wolves play among themselves, we also saw one of the Mollies have a rather lengthy stand-off with six Elk (five females and a very young bull) that didn't seem to appreciate the Wolves' presence.

Watchful

Later, we saw the yearling Wolf chasing and being chased by another Elk. That romp went on for some time before the Wolf lost interest and wandered off.

They almost looked like they were playing

According to the National Park Service, Wolf packs once roamed from the Arctic to Mexico, but habitat loss and extermination programs led to their demise throughout most of the United States by early in the 1900s. In 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the northern Rocky Mountain Wolf (Canis Lupus) as an endangered species and designated Greater Yellowstone as one of three recovery areas. From 1995 to 1997, 41 wild Wolves from Canada and northwest Montana were released in Yellowstone. 

Each year, park researchers fit a small number of Wolves with radio tracking collars. Typically, at the end of each year, only 20 percent of the population is collared. If you look closely at my pictures, you can see collars on some of the Wolves.

Hard to see

As the Yellowstone population grew, Wolves established territories throughout and adjacent to the Park (some have even been found in Colorado - yay!). Average pack size is ten Wolves, including older members (often the alpha male and alpha female) and subordinates, each having individual personality traits and roles within the pack. Packs defend their territory from other, invading packs by howling and scent marking with urine. Obviously, the Wapiti pack was undersized and probably in need of an infusion from another pack.

You can see a small one sitting by the big black Wolf

Wolves hunt large prey that other predators cannot usually kill. In Yellowstone, 90 percent of their winter prey is Elk; 10-15 percent of their summer prey is Deer. They also can kill Bison, but often feed off Bison that died of other causes.

Showing off

Disease periodically kills pups and old adults, sometimes in large numbers. Outbreaks of canine distemper have occurred in 2005, 2008 and 2009. In 2005, distemper killed two-thirds of the pups within the park. 

Rolling over

Wolf packs are highly territorial and often fight with other packs, sometimes destroying a pack by killing some of the wolves and adopting others. Among collared Wolves, NPS has found that about 65 percent are killed by rival packs.

They are always so dang far away

Yellowstone's Wolf population has dropped substantially since 2007, when the count was 171. Most of the decrease has been in packs on the northern range, where it has been attributed to disease and a decline in the Elk population.

But, so great to see

The Gray Wolf was removed from the endangered species list in 2011 in Idaho and Montana but are currently protected as endangered species in the state of Wyoming. Wolves are hunted in Idaho and Montana under state hunting regulations. 

Why would you hunt these?

To see video of the Wolves, click here.

Trip date: July 30-August 5, 2016